A great deal of today’s biggest metalcore fans consider the 2000s to the 2010s the golden years of the genre. Bands such as Michigan-based For The Fallen Dreams who have continued on since the MySpace era help to maintain the style’s raw spirit with their ever-evolving nu-metal twists – and their new self-titled album (Arising Empire) is no exception.
Everywhere, Everything (Arising Empire) is the fifth album from Polar, the Hardcore natives of Guildford, Surrey (UK), and is the follow-up to 2019’s Nova. It is a collection of songs written together during the pandemic, and with their current lineup for the first time, which had brought a premature end to their tour with After The Burial, Spiritbox, and Make Them Suffer.
LHHC, baby.
Singer Rob Watson is one of the most adept frontmen in hardcore when it comes to being able to both hype up a crowd and tell grim, streetwise lyrical tales over bouncy grooves. Nothing has changed with their latest release, Welcome To The West Coast III (Arising Empire). While the series of ‘Welcome…’ releases started with an EP, it is now halfway to keeping pace with Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter albums. “Welcome” implies an introduction, but ironically the band no longer need one. Think of the title as more akin to an ongoing episodic documentary at this point.
Metalcore has evolved significantly since the early 2000s, with countless bands finding their own creative strategies to embrace the melodic side of the genre without forgetting about its metal roots. Rising up from Marl, Germany, Our Mirage solidify what makes their brand of metalcore special with their somber yet hard-hitting tone as well as their captivating ways of storytelling. Their sophomore album Eclipse (Arising Empire) takes the heavy rock riffing and balances it with atmospheric touches that bring out a certain delicacy amongst the havoc.
Any band who knows how to blur the lines between two styles that are normally considered drastically different deserves some praise for that alone, and groups like Lincoln, UK’s Borders continue to push those boundaries. Their sophomore album Bloom Season (Arising Empire) ventures further on their seamless mingling of metalcore and hip-hop, yet there is no shortage of either genre’s core elements. While some tracks may embrace one over the other, the balance is consistent, making for a record easily accessible to a wide range of music fans. Continue reading
Dragged Under – Upright Animals (Mascot Label Group)
Having turned heads with their opening salvo, 2020’s The World Is In Your Way, Seattle melodic punk troupe Dragged Under are snapping them the full 360 with the follow-up, the infectious, energetic Upright Animals, a vigorous mix of punk and rock, with hints of metalcore roughing up the edges.
German quartet Breathe Atlantis have blessed the modern Metalcore scene with their fourth studio album Overdrive (Arising Empire). Teaming up with producer Andy Posdziech (Any Given Day), the band presents their most vulnerable sides through a sea of hooks that get stuck in your head after one listen. With vocalist Nico Schiesewitz’s perfect balance of emotive cleans and devastating screams front and center, not a moment is wasted.
Cro-Mags released their first new album in 23 years last month, In The Beginning, via Mission Two Entertainment (Arising Empire in Europe). Led by founder Harley Flanagin, the album is a mix of old-school, and a modern flavor as well all the gritty feel of a day-in-the-life New York City grind. Check out our review of the album here and our EXCLUSIVE interview with Harley here. Now head to Ghost Cult on Facebook and drop a comment with your favorite Cro-Mags song and we will pick one winner at random to get this killer Shirt and vinyl bundle! Contest ends July 16th, USA fans only.
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Ghost Cult caught up with Kaan Tasan, vocalist for UK-based Metalcore act Heart of A Coward. Kaan has been in the band for several years, but their brand new album, The Disconnect (Arising Empire/Nuclear Blast Records), is their first new album with him in the band. We chatted with Kaan about how he came to join the band, the pressures he felt about recording with the group, recording with Justin Hill and Will Putney, how he keeps his voice in shape, and much more! You can catch the band this weekend at Download Festival 2019! Continue reading
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I remember the great commercial Metalcore boom of the mid-aughts like it was yesterday. I was in the twilight years of high school, about 30 pounds lighter and with no useful insight into how to drive a car or pleasure a woman. I had it all figured out. You may not believe it, but I am wearing an As I Lay Dying tee as I type this. Heart of a Coward‘s The Disconnect (Arising Empire) takes me back to many an evening in 2004 hanging with the homies. Continue reading